Back on home soil and with fans in the stands cheering her on Tuesday night, Bianca Andreescu rose to the occasion. 

The first Canadian to win her country's flagship event in 50 years when it was held in Toronto two summers ago, Andreescu opened her Omnium Banque Nationale campaign with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win over Harriet Dart. 

Three of Andreescu's prior appearances at her country's biggest event have come in Toronto. Her lone previous effort in Montreal came in 2016, when she was a 16-year-old qualifying wildcard ranked World No.610.  

But she thrilled the locals with a comeback victory in a match that lasted just over two hours, coming from a break down in the decider by winning five of the last six games.

"I had all the feels. It was super emotional at the end. I got goosebumps walking on the court," Andreescu told reporters after the match.

"Having the crowd cheer so long, it's just a crazy feeling. I'm so happy the tournament was able to be played.

"There's always going to be pressure, but I really use it to my advantage, especially here at home. Having that crowd support really helps me. Win or lose, I know they're always going to have my back, so that definitely relieves a lot of pressure."

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British qualifier Dart, the world No.172, had knocked out another home favorite in Leylah Fernandez in the opening round, and had her eyes on another upset as she bounced back from a one-sided opener to push her fourth career match against a Top 10 player to a final set. 

"I think I started off the match really, really well. Then there was a moment where I tried something different for, like, two, three points. I think that was the key moment where it switched momentums and she started playing well," Andreescu said.

"I think it was the 1-All game in the second set. She picked up her level. I thought I was still playing well at that point, but I think it was more mental towards the end. I'm just super happy that I was able to go from here and come more closer to the baseline, finishing off points at the net.

"She definitely started going for her shots more. She started putting more first serves in the court. She saw that I was attacking her second serve way too much. I guess that changed something for her."

However, the 25-year-old struggled to defend her serve as Andreescu rounded into form - she landed just 47 percent of her first serves in the match - and was broken five times.

That, coupled with 35 winners from the Canadian's racquet, helped the World No.8 move safely through to a match against either No.13 seed Ons Jabeur or Daria Kasatkina. 

While Andreescu was playing her first match in more than a month, the red-hot Danielle Collins extended her career-best winning streak to 11. 

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The Palermo and San Jose champion dropped the first set against Switzerland's Jil Teichmann but rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 first-round victory to set a meeting with No.6 seed Simona Halep for the first time in seven years.

An unranked wildcard into the 2014 US Open as the NCAA collegiate national champion, Collins pushed Halep inside Arthur Ashe Stadium in a three-set defeat, 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-2. The American turned down $35,000 in first-round prize money to maintain her amateur status and finish her collegiate career, and she turned professional two years later. 

Victoria Azarenka rounded out the day's play after midnight - one could say the former World No.1 kicked off Wednesday's slate of matches - with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Sorana Cirstea.

Following a nearly two-hour rain delay following Andreescu's victory, Azarenka needed just 72 minutes to steer through to the third round, reversing the pair's result from Wimbledon last month.

"I wasn't sure if I should say bonjour or bonne soiree," the No.8 seed joked on-court after the match. "I ready to go home and they said that the rain was going to stop. I was looking forward to bed time, but I had to wake up really quick."

Azarenka, a two-time semifinalist in Montreal, broke serve five times, saved all but one of the 10 break points she faced and tallied a tidy 19 winners to 11 unforced errors.

She'll next face the winner of Wednesday's second round match between No.11 seed Maria Sakkari and Veronika Kudermetova for a place in the quarterfinals.